Give both Lohrei and Lysell an extended run. Let Poitras stay with the team and see what happens with playoff hockey. Invite Bergeron to sit up in the room with the other black aces as a teaching moment at him games

waive forbort and bring Beecher back up too. No one will claim him and you can bring him back up as insurance for the playoffs once the cap turns off. I'd give Regula a chance to win that 3RHD spot too.

They'll probably at least add some depth. Curious to see how they do it with minimal cap space which is one the reasons Forbort shouldn't be on the roster at 3pm Friday whether it is via waivers or trade.

Agreed for Lysell. Lohrei has had extended looks twice and it didn't go well. He's been better this time but is still making way too many mistakes defensively. I would suggest a 3rd-pair sheltered role and see. Otherwise, back to Providence.

Agreed on Lohrei. He's NHL ready, but not top 4 ready IMO. Needs to be playing the minutes Shattenkirk is right now. Extremely easy competition with a lot of ozone starts.

I almost did that in my view. Regula, IMO, deserves a shot to play. He’s a poor man’s Carlo with regards to his size and defensive soundness. You can play Grz with McAvoy.

if it's possible, I still try and flip Lohrei as part of a package for Hanifin. I'm high on Lohrei, and the flashes of his talent are really bright, but he's a work in progress and this team needs top 4 help now. Try running a defense that's something like this:

Lindholm-McAvoy
Hanifin-Carlo
Gryz-Regula

Gryz can still be an effective player IMO, just needs easier minutes. That top 4 will take all the hard minutes every game.

I just don’t see the difference between Hanifin and Skjei or Forsling as worth Lohrei and a first. In reality, Skjei is a better fit regardless of the story of Hanifin coming home. I could see Forsling, Stamkos, Sjkei, Lindholm, or Hanifin being available at July 1st. Some of those are likely to be available

I’d be open to DeBrusk, Lohrei, and Merkulov for Hanifin. Throw in Forbort at 50 percent retention to remove any financial obligation. It would require Calgary believing they could resign DeBrusk, which I think is a reasonable bet.

Skjei has been inconsistent, will be a 30yo and is a great candidate to get a regrettable contract (for the team). Hanifin is a 3 years younger and has played well in a top pair role which Skjei has never done. Lindholm *should* remain a top4 guy, but a possible regression is something to keep in mind which is why having an actual top pair left D is safer. Or opt for a decent bottom-4 D on a short-term contract and it's easier to replace him if he regresses.

Lots of options and I’d argue Skjei is significantly better defensively than Hanifin (frankly it isn’t close) and would likely require a contract that is 3 years less, so age is less of an issue. Lohrei and Skjei over Hanifin is not a no brainer either way

I think of all those guys you listed Hanifin is the youngest and the best player. Maybe he gets to UFA, maybe not. Personally I don't take that chance and just go get him now. I think you can recoup a first this summer by trading Ullmark to a goalie needy team, so I'm really not too worried about that.

Is he? I think he’s the best offensive player and he is younger, but if they trade him to Florida … I’d rather have Forsling and the foregone trade package than Hanifin. I believe Forsling is better than him even if the narrative isn’t the same.

I won’t be upset if they acquire Hanifin, but don’t see him as a no brainer at all.

I mean Hanifin also plays against like 90ish percentile quality of competition on under 50% ozone starts for the Flames. He's a legit 2-way difference making defenseman that we could put next to McAvoy on the top pair, or have his carry the 2nd pair with Carlo so Lindholm and Mac can play together. If there's any truth to the idea that he'd be willing to sign here, I think he's about as close to a no brainer as you can get.

Hes in the 42nd percentile in Defensive Effiency rating, which doesn’t suggest a great two way defenseman. Hes a very good offensive defenseman, which you take along with his defense.

I love Hanifin, but I think he is being overrated a bit in these discussions. Hes a better overall player than Carlo and he would be really interesting paired with Carlo. I’m not minimizing him at all. Just don’t see the great differentiation when you consider the price to pay